Staten Island's pleas heeded as Boehner schedules vote on Sandy aid

Rep. Michael Grimm accompanied President Obama on visit to hurricane evacuees in New Dorp in November.Associated Press

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After a very public tongue-lashing from New York politicos of both political stripes, who accused House Speaker John Boehner of stabbing them in the back for preventing a vote on Sandy relief, Boehner relented late Wednesday and said he would permit a preliminary vote this week.

The House is slated to vote Friday on an initial $9 billion to replenish the National Flood Insurance Program, according to Rep. Michael Grimm's office, and vote on the remaining $51 billion on Jan. 15, the first day of the legislative session of the new Congress.

The Senate passed the $60 billion hurricane package last month.

Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn), Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.) and Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) had joined the chorus, arguing that to delay the vote further would be a crushing blow to Staten Islanders and residents of other affected areas, business owners and the New York-area ecomony.

They also pointed to continued disruption to mass transit in Lower Manhattan.

Others noted that federal aid after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and parts of the South was passed within two weeks.

So infuriated by the delay was Grimm that he told the Advance he would not support Boehner for re-election as speaker, only to walk back his remarks after Boehner called Republican members from New York and New Jersey into his chambers to say he would put forth a vote.

"He has changed his position after the meeting," said Grimm spokeswoman Carol Danko.

While Grimm could not be reached directly, he said in a statement:

"In a closed-door meeting with Speaker Boehner and [Majority] Leader [Eric] Cantor, I, along with my GOP colleagues, pressed hard for a commitment on a prompt vote on the Superstorm Sandy aid package. Due to our relentless efforts, we now have the backing and support of our leadership to take a vote on the full $60 billion by Jan. 15. I would have done anything to avoid this delay, but we will have to move forward and do the best we can under the circumstances.

"Although I completely disagreed with the speaker's decision to delay the long-overdue vote, I never questioned his personal desire to help New York, New Jersey and the thousands of people suffering from the devastation of Sandy. In the end, after a slight delay, we will deliver, and my office will continue to work relentlessly on individual casework for our friends and neighbors throughout Staten Island who have shown remarkable resilience and an overwhelming sense of community."

Earlier in the day, Grimm blasted Boehner for yanking a Sandy vote Tuesday night, without explanation, after the House finally passed legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Grimm said Boehner had assured him a vote would be taken.

Grimm called it a "personal betrayal" and declared himself "angry," "outraged" and "hurt."

"As a New Yorker, I feel like I got stabbed in the back," Grimm told the Advance.

Schumer also weighed in with reporters during a conference call from Washington early Wednesday, saying he was "distraught" and "angry," and that "the rug [had been] pulled out from under us" by Boehner.

Both Grimm and Schumer had said the earliest a House vote could be held was after Jan. 21, with Grimm saying it would be a "heavy lift" to again shore up votes and Schumer saying members would have to "start all over again from the beginning."

After Boehner's change of heart, Schumer issued a statement saying: "While it would have been far better had they passed the Senate's bill today, at least this provides a path to produce the needed $60 billion for New York and New Jersey by the end of the month."

Ms. Gillibrand had also issued a scathing rebuke, saying: "Speaker Boehner should come to Staten Island and tell families trying to rebuild their businesses why they need to wait longer for help. ... But I doubt he has the dignity nor the guts to do it."

And King had warned House Republicans who opposed Sandy aid not to come to New York to raise money to fill their campaign coffers.

Also taking Boehner to task in a sharply worded joint statement were Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who said, in part: "This failure to come to the aid of Americans following a severe and devastating natural disaster is unprecedented."